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BOSTON 



COMMERCIAL METROPOLIS IN 1850. 



HEK GROWTH, POPULATION, WE^iLTH AND 
PROSPECTS. 



As ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN HuNT'S MERCHANTS' MAGA- 
ZINE FOR November, 1850. 

BY 

E, H. DERBY. 



BOSTON: 

REDDING & Co., STATE STREET. 

1850. 



BOSTON: 



COMMERCIAL METROPOLIS IN 1850. 



Boston, tlic commercial center of New England, lips at the head of 
Massachusetts l^ay, near the eonfluence of Charles and Mystic Rivers. These 
streams are navigable for a few miles only, but uniting with Neponset and 
Weymouth Rivers form one of the noblest harbors in the world. It is 
land locked, accessible to ships of the line, susceptible of easy defense, rarely 
if ever obstructed by ice. Extending fuurteen mih's from Point Alderton 
to Medford, and. in width at least eight miles from Chelsea to Ilinghara; it 
covers seventy-five square ro.iles, and would hold all the shipping of the 
Union. 

The entrance for large vessels is very narrow, barely sufficient for two 
ships to sail abreast. It is defended by three fortresses, two of which, situate 
on Georges and Castle Islands are on the largest scale, and constructed with 
all the improvements of modern science. The third, or Citadel, on Governors' 
Island, has been recently begun. These will effectual ly command the 
entrance, and when finished may be considered impregnable. 

This harbor is well adapted to commerce. The Peninsula and Island 
of P)Oston are literlly fringed with wharfs and docks, while around the har- 
bor, and its attiuents, are clustered many cities and villages into which 
lioston overflows, all of which have piers or landing places, viz: Ilingham, 
Hull, Weymouth, Quincy, Milton, Dorchester, Roxbury, IJrookline, Brighton, 
JVewton, Wati/rtown, Cambridge, Charlestown, Chelsea, Maiden, Medford 
and Somerville. 

The space occupied by Boston projjcr is small for a commercial city. 

The early settlers diose for their residence, in 1630, a Peninsula. It was 
connected with the main by a narrow isthmus, (occasionally overflowed by 
the sea,) and divided at high tide into two islands. The entire tract con- 
tained six hundred acres. Itw;is called Shawmut, or Trimountain, and 
derived its name from its springs and three lofty hills. The spot was un- 



4 Boston : A Commercial Metropolis in 1850. 

doubtcdly selected for pure water, facilities for coininerce, and security from 
wolves and Indians. 

Boston soon became an important seaport. As early as lY40 she was 
distiniiuished for her enterprise and commerce, and Avas particularly noted 
for her ship building and tisheries. Her population was then 1 "7,000. 

After this for more than half a century, viz: until 1790, her growth was 
checked by the Indian, French and English wars, and the restrictive policy 
of Eno;laiid. In 1790 her poi)ulation was found to be but eighteen thou- 
sand and thirty-eight. I5efore the revolution she was the first commercial 
city on the coast. Her reputation was identified with the country ; and the 
colonists were generally known as liostonians among the French and Cana- 
dians. r>ut during tlie revolution her citizens were compelled to abandon 
their fire-sides, their stores and churches were injured, or l)urnt by the British 
troops, and their commerce literally ruined. Iler sacrifices, too, for the com- 
mon cause were se\ere, and her recovery slow. New York and Philadelphia, 
consequently, outstripped her. I>ut siiiee 1790 Boston has made great 
advances. She embarked largely in the trade to India and China; in 
voyages to the Noith-west coast, in the fisheries, the carrying trade, and she 
opened an extensive business with Eussia, China, the Indies, Mediterranean, 
South America, Liverpool and the Bi'itish Provinces. When commerce was 
paralyzed by the embargo and war of 1812,slie began manufactures. These 
have expanded intu every variety of form. They have fostered a large trade 
both coastwise, and with the British Provinces. More recently she has taken 
a deep interest in railways, and opened to herself an interior to which nature 
gave her no access. To complete her railways she has used a large capital, 
and paid some extra interest. Their benificent influence is, however, appa- 
rent, and the future promises accessions to her commerce. 

EXPANSION OF BOSTON. 

A Peninsula less than one square mile in extent was soon found insufficient 
for Boston ; and the State annexed to her Dorchester Point, a Peninsula 
containing six hundred acres. To this she is wedded by four bridges. At 
a later i)eriod, ferries were established to Noddles Island, an area of six hun- 
dred acres, and this island now forms a ward of the city. Some hundred 
acres have also been reclaimed from the sea ; but these narrow limits, less than 
two miles s([uare, prove entirely inadequate, and have long been exceeded. 

The population of Boston, outside of her chartered limits, alivady equals 
the j)o]iulation within. AVe should do injustice to Poston were we to con- 
fine her to such narrow l)ounds, or within such arbitrary lines. Her true 
■limits, as a conmiercial metropolis, are those marked out by her business 
men for tlieir stores, ])iers, shops and dwellings — the space occupied bv 
those who resort daily to her banks and warehouses, or meet at her exchange. 
How is it with her sister cities? Philadelphia, by the last census, embraced 
witliin her chartered limits less than half her iidiabitants ; the residue were 
difl^us('d through the extensive districts of Spring (rarden, Moyamensing and 
Nortiiern Liberties. She virtually extends, under dilleivnt charters, from 
Pichniond, six miles down the Delaware. 

New York reaches fourteen miles from Kings Bridge to (lie l>attery. 

New Orleans embraces three distinct munici] alities, on l he Crescent of 
the Mississippi. 

hoiidon, the queen of commerce, contains but six hun In d acres, and less 
than one hundred and thirty thousand people in her chirt r d limits; but 



Boston: A Commercial Metropolis in 1850. 5 

her streets stretch eight miles on the Thames. Within her metropolitan 
districts are eighteen square miles of buildings, and three millions of i)eople. 

Boston, witii less scope than New York, h;is, Hke New Orleans, Pliila 
delpliia ;ind London, over-stept her sea-girt isles. She has attached lierself 
to the main by one wide natural avenue, the neck, paved and planted with 
trees, by one granite structure, the Western Avenue, a mile and a half in 
length ; by six bridges, seven railways, and three ferries, one terminating in a 
railway. Seven railways branch into sixteen, and ten avenues divide into 
thirty within the first nine miles from her exchange. These diverge like a 
fan, and on the streets thus made is found a large population under separate 
munici])alities. As land rises in value, hotels, offices and blocks of stores 
xisurp the place of dwellings. The old residents, leaving the low and 
reclaimed land to foreign laborers, plant themselves in the suburbs. 
There they build tasteful houses, with flower-plats and gardens ; availing of 
the frequent omnibuses, or of special trains run almost hourly,'''' and com- 
muting for passage at 820 to S40 a year ; they reach their stores and offices 
in the morning, and at night sleep with their wives and children in the 
suburbs. No time is lost, for they read the morning and evening journals 
as they go and return. Some of the wards appropriate for stores thus rise 
in value, but diminish in population. The suburbs extend, and the commer- 
cial community grows in a widening semi-circle. 

Dr. Lardner well remarks in his late treatise on railways : " The ]iopu- 
lation of a great capital is condensed into a small compass, by the difficulty 
and inconvenience of passing over long distances ; hence has arisen the 
densely populated state of great cities like London and Paris. If the speed 
by Avhich persons can be transported from place to place be doubled, th 
same population can, without -inconvenience, be spread over four times the 
area ; if the speed be tripled, it may occupy nine times the area." 

Boston, the first of our American cities to adopt improved modes of loco- 
motion, — instance her early stages, her Middlesex Canal and Quincy Railway 
— is entitled to avail of these laws of science, and in computing her population 
and wealth should embrace the surrounding districts within nine miles, or 
half an hour's distance, equivalent to a two miles' walk, from her exchange. 

The following table exhibits the population and wealth of the metro- 
politan district of Boston, by the census and valuation of 1850 and 1840, 
with the growth of each. 

This district is sixteen miles in length, by nine and a half average width ; 
about one fourth of it is occujiied by water, marsh, or rocky hills too steep 
for buildinof. 







Population 


Population 


Population 








Distance 


by t^tate 


by U. Slates 


by State 


Assessed 


Assessed 


N.imc of 


from 


census, 


census, 


census 


valuation. 


valuation. 


district. 


exchange. 


1640. 


1840. 


1850. 


1840. 


1850. 


Boston 




83,979 


93,383 


fl38,788 


$94,581,600 


:};|l79,525,00a 


Roxbury 


2 


8,310 


9,089 


18,316 


3,257,503 


13,712,800 


Charlestown . 


2 


10,872 


11,484 


15,933 


4,033,176 


8,862,250 


Cambridge . . 


3 


8,127 


8,409 


14,825 


4,479,501 


11,434,458 


Brookline . . . 


3 


1,123 


1,365 


2,353 


743,963 


5,382,000 


Chelsea 


3 


2,182 


2,390 


6,151 


696,781 


3,472,650 


Dorchester . . 


4 


4,468 


4,876 


7,578 


1,691,245 


7,199,750 



* Two hundred and forty railway trains daily enter, or leave Boston, conveying more than 10,000 
passi^ngers dialy. 

t Population of Boston and environs in 1820, 8(1,096. 

X The valuation of all these towns is official except Brighton, which is estimated from previona 
returns, the assessors not being ready to furnish the return for 1850. 



Boston: A Commercial Metropolis in \%oO. 







Population 


Population 


Population 








Distance 


by Stuto 


by 11. States 


by State 


Assessed 


Assessed 


Name of 


t'rdiii 


census, 


census, 


census. 


valuation, 


valuation, 


district. 


cxchiinge. 


1840. 


1840. 


18.™. 


1840. 


1850. 


Maiden 


4 


3,027 


3,351 


5,017 


586,136 


1,461.436 


Mciifoid .... 


4 


2,275 


2,478 


3,581 


1,095,195 


2,128,470 


Brighton 


5 


1,405 


1,425 


2,253 


458,485 


1,146,212 


Soniorville.. . 


5 


new 


new 


3,110 


new 


2,778,125 


W. Gamb'dge 


5 


1,338 


1,363 


2,120 


472,423 


2,330,281 


K Cheisea. . . 


5 


new 


new 


819 


new 


772,000 


JIubose 


5 


new 


new 


1,190 


new 


483,419 


"Watortown. . 


G 


1,896 


1,810 


2,592 


973,835 


2,614,100 


Winchester.. 


6 


new 


new 


1,320 


new 


866,432 


Stoiichani. .. . 


G 


1,007 


1,017 


2,043 


217,960 


539,000 


Milton 


7 


1,684 


1,822 


2 222 


663,247 


1,200,800 


Woburn .... 


t 


2,931 


2,993 


3,788 


987,388 


2,241,144 


Qnincy 


8 


3 309 


3,486 


4,958 


912,105 


2,200,000 


Saugus 


8 


.02 


1,098 


1,505 


208,856 


359,305 


Dedham . . . 




3,157 


3,290 


4,379 


1,218,548 


8,509,180 


ifewton.. 


9 


3,027 


3,351, 


5,017 


897,255 


8,793,083 


Waltham . . . 


9 


2,593 


2,604 


4,483 


1,069,171 


2,973,750 


Lexington . . . 


9 


1,559 


1,642 


1,920 


561,549 


1,469,551 


Lynn 





9,075 


9,367 


13.613 


1,319,656 


4,191,648 



Total 158,546 171,992 269,874 §120,114,574 $5266,646,844 

l>y tliis talile, futiiulecl on data from official sources, it appears tliat the 
assessed wealth of tliis metropolis amounts to rC?2G0,0'iG,844, a sum exceed- 
ing the assessed wealth of New York. It also appears that this wealth has 
increa.sed in the last ten years, from 6120,114,574 to ^200,040,844, show- 
ing a ratio of one hundi-ed and twenty-three per cent, or more than 12 per 
cent per annum. 

It also appears that the population has increased from 158,540 to 209,874, 
by the State census taken in 1840 and in 1850. But the State census does 
not give the whole amount. It is prepared for a sjiecial purpose to district 
the State for representatives, and the usage of the State is to omit prisoners, 
paupers, lunatics, and also absent seamen. 

The United States census, in 1840, gave an excess in this district of 
13,440, or 8|- per cent for these omissions, and assuming the same result for 
1850, we must add — 



To amount of State census 
Eight and a half per cent.. , 



269,874 
22,939 



And we have a population of 292,813 

This poi)ulation and wc^alth must preserve for this metropolis her station 
among the three lirst cities of the Union. ■^'' 



RAILWAYS AND STEAMERS. 



Tlie growth of P.oston and her environs has been more rapid during the 
past ten years than in any jtrevious decack'. The South has ascribed her 
progress jirincipally to cotton mills. In common with commerce, the fish- 



Thc public and corporate property in Boston .and its environs, not included in the above asssess- 
ment-H, exceeds lwcnl\-oiic millions. In 1840 the assessed vahuiliou of the city of New York was two 
hundred and llfty-two milHoiisone hundred and thirty-live thousand dollars. In 184!Mhe assessed 
vuluntioii of New Vork w.is Si5t;,-J17,0ii:i ; in the same year, valuation of Brooklyn, Loni,'-lslan(l, was 
«.lJ,i(i(.,.).iO. The valuanoM of WilliaMisburi,'h, Loni; Island, was §:i.(i7H,.''>():{. The assessed valuation 
of Uauiinore was S7S,-.>.-.:3.r»S. The assessed value of real estate in Philadelphia (exclusive of the dis- 
^"^ij] Vii"n *^>''-'J>'"'*5 ""*' Ibc valuation of real and personal estate in Portland, Maine, was, in 1850, 



Boston : A Commercial Metropolis in 1850. ^ 

eries and other mnnufactures, these liave doubtless contributed to Iter 
increase ; but the cotton business grew more rapidly in the preceding ten 
years, and is now less important than the manufactures of leather. 

The principal cause has undoubtedly been the construction of railways, 
and the establishment of a semi-monthly steam lines to Europe. Thesd 
have given great facilities to her commerce, enlarged her market, attracted 
merchants, stimulated every branch of manufiicture, created a demand for 
houses and stores, and advanced the value of real estate. September 
30th 1839, there were but one hundred and sixty-seven miles of railway 
radiating from Boston. In August, 1850, Boston is wedded to one thou- 
sand miles of railway in Massa^chusetts, thirteen hundred and fifty in the 
five other States of New England, and six hundred and fifty more in New 
York, In all, three thousand miles finished, or on the eve of completion. In 
September 1830, her Railway horizon was bounded by Salem, Bradford, 
Nashua and Providence. It now encircles a web spreading over Massa- 
chusetts, and extends to the Kennebec, the St. Lawrence and the Lakes. 
This great system of railways has been principally planned and directed by 
her sagacity. In 1846 and 1847, its success led to some overaction, to a 
few mistakes and a consequent pressure in the money market. Boston in- 
vested largely in lines to the North, and in distant railways — the Michi- 
gan Central, Mad River, Reading and Wilmington ; and she also ex- 
pended five millions in an aqueduct, and as much more on f^ictory cities. But 
the aqueduct is in operation. The northern lines will reach the St. Lawrence 
in October. Her last investments promise to be remunerative, and will 
bring with them a strong current of trade from newly acquired territory. 
Railways have become the great interest of Boston, and her investment in 

h eeds fifty millons of dollars. 

STEAMERS. 

The Cunard line of steamers was commenced July, 1841, and has run 
nine years with unexampled success. There are also lines of steamers to St. 
Johns, the Kennebec, and Penobscot, to Nahant, and Hingham, but in this 
department Boston has disjjlayed less energy than in railways. It is true 
she has now feeders and aliment for new lines of steamers. The ocean 
too, invites her action. Being one day nearer to Europe than New York, 
she can by her Telegraph give one day's earlier intelligence to the country. 

ANNUAL PRODUCTIONS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 

By an official report made to the Legislature in 184 5, it appeared that the 
annual products of Massachusetts were one hundred and fourteen millions of 
dollars. Of these eleven millions were the produce of agriculture and the 
forests, principally hay, fruit and vegetables ; twelve millions the proceeds of 
the fisheries, and ninety one-millions manufactures. The income from com- 
merce, freight, and investments in State loans, railways and cost of new 
striicture, were not included. 

FISHERIES. 

In 1849, 204,000 barrels of whale and sperm oil, three-fifths of the 
entire fishery of the Union, were brought into Massachusetts, also 231,856 
barrels of mackerel. A large portion of these imports find their way to 
Boston. 



8 Boston: A Commercial Metro2')oUs in l^bQ. 

For more tlian a century Boston has been the chief mart for the sale of 
dried fish, and a large proj)ortion of the fishermen engaged in both the cod 
and mackerel fishery ri;sort to Boston for outfits and sales. 

MANUFACTURES OF MASSACHUSETTS. 

The principal branches in 1845 were : — 

Miscellaneous ?19,35T,000 

Boots, shoes, and leather 18,635,000 

Cotton goods (817,473 spindles) 12,193,000 

Woolen and -worsted goods 10,300,000 

Manufactures of wood, iucludiug ships and carriages. . 11,596,000 

Manufactures of metals, tools, &c 8,024,000 

Oil, candles, and soap 4,931,000 

Hats, caps, and bonnets 2,384,000 

Paper 1,750,000 

Cordage 906,000 

Glass 758,000 

Total $91,000,000 

Of these productvS, twenty-one millions are manufactured within the city and 
suburbs, tlie residue are principally sent to Boston for sale or shipment. A 
portion go directly to New York, but as Boston is the market of a large 
part of New England, the recei])ts from other States may be estimated to 
supply the deficit. The raw materials, and supplies for operatives and foreign 
imports, the latter amounting this year to nearly thirty millions, also pass 
through this market, so that the annual home trade of Boston may be safely 
set at two hundred millions of dollars. 

This estimate is sustained by the business of the Suffolk Bank of Boston, 
which redeems at ]>ar the bills of the country banks of New England. Its 
redemption has in a single week of July, 1850, reached four millions six 
hundred and forty-five thousand dollars. Allowing for some excess, this indi- 
cates a business of two hun<lred millions per annum. 

From the tabular statement of manufactures, it appears the cotton manu- 
facture is less than one-seventh of the manufactures of the State. It has 
made more show tlian other branches because conducted by associations in 
large villages, while others are more dispersed. The tariff of 1846, has 
somewhat checked its growth, and injuriously affected certain fabrics, such 
as printing cloths, calicoes and fine muslins. It has also borne hard on iron 
and liardware, linseed oil, and some descriptions of woolens. But the arti- 
cles thus atlected do not constitute one-half of the manufactures of the State, 
and the residue are still progessive. The manufjicture of leather, boots and 
shoes, is particularly prosperous, and is now rated at twenty-five millions.* 
Mouslin delain, carpets and sliawls are made on a large scale, and woolens 
have increased to at least fourteen millions. 

Ihe ca])ital embarked by Boston, however, in all manufactures is much 
less than her investments in railways. It is now computed not to exceed 
forty millions, jilanted principally out of the city. Her capital devoted to 
commerce, iiieluding her investment in banks and insurance companies, 
is at least fifty millions of dollars. 

^ Her investments in State and city loans may be set at $15,000,000; iu 
New York mortgages (a favorite investment) §4,000,000. 



* Iliilos, skins and l.'aUier nro now imported into Boston, in large qiiamtities, from i'/m-^n/irf and 
f ranci, and nearly all parts of thu world, to bu manufactured inlo boots and shoes. 



Boston: A Commercial Metropolis in 1850. 9 

SHIPPING OF BOSTON. TONNAGE. 

Years. Registered. EnroUed. Total. 

18-42 157,116 36,386 193,502 

1843 165,482 37,116 202,599 

1844 175,330 35,554 210,885 

1845 187,812 37,290 228,103 

1846 192,879 42,185 235.064 

1847 210,775 44,038 254,812 

1848 232,769 45,100 277,869 

1849 247,336 45,123 292,459 

1850 270,710 42,482 313,192 

1821 only 127,124 

FOREIGN COMMERCE. 

AVithin tlie last ten years the foreign commerce of Boston has g-radually 
increased, although it has not kept pace with the coasting trade, which has of 
late been swelled by the accession of Tox;is and California. 

Subjoined is a table giving the foreign arrivals, the exports, imports, and 
duties for a series of years : — 

Years. For. arrivals. Imports. Exports. Duties. 

1842 1,738 $12,633,713 $7,226,104 $2,780,186 

1843 1,716 20,662,567 7,265,712 3,491,019 

1844 , 2,174 22,141,788 8,294,726 5,934,945 

1845 2,305 21,591.877 9,370,851 5,249,634 

1846 2,090 21,284,800 8,245,524 4,872,570 

1847 2,739 28,279,651 12,118,587 5,448,362 

1848 3,009 23,388,475 10,001,819 4,908,872 

1849 3,111 24,117,175 8,843,974 5,031,995 

1850, for 1st half only 16,329,501 4,426,216 3,126,472 

1821, only 853 

In foreign arrivals, imports and duties, Boston stands next to New York. 
Her excess of imports over her exports is paid for by the earnings of her 
vessels on foreign voyages, and by her coastwise shipments of granite, mar- 
ble, ice, manufactures and other merchandise to the exporting cities of the 
South, 

LOCAL AND COASTWISE TRADE. 

Boston enjoys a large local and coastwise trade. The population of Mas- 
sachusetts has risen from 718,592, by the State, and 737, VOO, by the United 
States Census in 1840, to 973,715, by the State Census of 1850. This gives 
one hundred and thirty-nine inhabitants to the square mile. For her area is 
but seven thousand square miles. 

Within her borders are two cities -with over 30,000 people each ; ten 
with 10,000 to 20,000; ten towns with 0,000 to 10,000; twenty with 
4,000 to 0,000.* Between these and the metropolis an active commerce 
exists. The whole State draws but ^10,000,000 of produce from agricul- 
ture, half of which is hay, and of course depends on other States for food . 
and raw material. Boston is the principal mart, and by her iron arms she 
reaches, through a populous interior, to the lakes and borders of the St. 
Lawrence. 

The following table exhibits the principal coastwise importations of ]3oston 
for several yeai"s. 



• The country around Boston and its suburbs is very populous. A strip of land only six miles wide 
surrounding; ihe metropolitan districts contains over 70,000 people. 



1849. 


1840. 


1821. 


269,813 


138,709 


17,126 


262,632 


73,847 


. ... 


*987,988 


550,359 


259,030 


3,002,593 


1,834,861 


641,680 


621,613 


577,359 


160,871 


38,199 


20,740 


8,392 


663,530 






156,556 






200,560 







10 Boston : A Commercial Metropolis in 1850. 

COASTWISE IMrOKTATlONS OK CERTAIN ARTICLES INTO BOSTON. 

Cotton bales 

Anthracite coal tons 

Flour bbls. 

Corn bvisli. 

Oats, rye, and shorts 

Turpentine bbls. 

Leather sides 

Porl< bbls. 

Lead pigs 

Lai'o'c iinj)ui1ations are also made, ]")articulafly from New Orleans, of beef, 
hemp, sugar, molasses, tobacco, and many other articles. 

COASTERS. 

Vessels of all sizes from 50 to 1,000 tons, are engaged in the coasting 
trade. The toUowing table exhibits for a term of years the arrival of all 
vessels coastwise, excepting sloops and schooners transporting wood, sand, 
and stone, which amount to some thousands annually, and do not report to 
the custom-house. 

COASTWISE ARRIVALS. 

1842 4,024 i 1847 7,004 

1843 4,944 U848 6,002 

1844 5,312 ' 1849 f 6,100 

1845 5,631 I 1850, 1st half only 3,462 

1846 6,732 I 1821, only ". 2,013 

FREIGHT BY RAILWAYS. 

Freiglit earnings of the four railways terminating in Boston in 1839 $287,310 

seven " " " 1849 1,238,122 

Tons transported by same in 1849 1,167,129 

CATTLE TRADE. 

Large sales of live stock are made weekly at Brighton near Boston, 
brought principally from other States by railwav. Many horses are also 
brought by the same conveyance. Cattle are kilk-d in the environs. 

SALES AT BRIGHTON FOR 1849. 



Beef cattle 46,465 

Store cattle 20,085 

Sheep 148,965 

Swine 80,120 



Amount of sales $1,765,670 

" 482,040 

" 297,910 

" 430,646 



Total value $2,976,265 

Another large market for cattle and other live stock is now held weekly 
at Cambridge.j: Large quantities of pork in bulk are in the winter conveyed 
by railway to Boston from the interior of New York. In the year ending 
Septemlter 1, 1850, .37,7 78 whole hogs were thus transported. The Fitch- 
burg Kailway brings in annually about 100,000 tons of ice. The Old Col- 
ony Railway, in a<ldition, transports the city ofial to Quincy. 

• In llu; year cndiii? .^.-ptembor 1, 18.W, ilic whole exportation of flour from the United States to 
Great Britain was :f9-.',74-.' barrels ; of corn, 4.rii:t,:i73 bushels. 

t In 17J7 lIu" arrivals in f.omlon were forei!,'n, i!,U.52 ; coastwise, G,837. 

X Tlie live stock olfered for sale for I he past year at the new market at Cambridge has been as fol- 
ws:— oO,H4 cattle, 108,^24 sheep, 7,078 swiue, and 1,245 horses. 



Boston: A Commercial Metropolis in \^oQ. 11 

TRADE WITH THE SOUTH AND WEST. 

Vast quantities of imported and manufactured goods are sold annually by 
Boston to the South and West, which are sent off both by railways and 
packets. Lines of packets rim to all the great cities of the sea- coast. To 
ilhistrate the magnitude of this business ; — a single packet, the President, 
which sailed from Boston during the current month of August for New 
Orleans, took 15,651 packages, princi]XAlly boot's, shoes, and other domestic 
goods, consigned to 332 difierent consignees, and \alued at $390,000. 

CALIFORNIA TRADE. 

Boston has devoted a large amount of shipping to the California trade, 
and has sent some thousand colonists to the Golden Gates. The vessels 
selected are principally of the oldest class, least adapted to the European or 
India trade, and tlie amount realized from their outward freight, averaging 
thirty dollars per ton, approaches their actual value. 

From January, 1849, to August, 1850, nearly 1,300 vessels have sailed 
fro!n our Atlantic ports for California. Of these nearly one-foui'th have 
leared from the port of Boston. The parties who have shipped by them 
have met with varying success. For instance, on the early shipments of 
luml^er a profit of 1,000 per cent was realized; on the late shipments, 
expenses have frequently absorbed the whole. It often happens, however, 
that one paying article makes up for the loss on many others. Many ves- 
sels have found good employment at San Francisco. 

BANKING CAPITAL. 

Capital of banks in Boston proper 119,280,000 

In metropolitan districts 1,450,010 

Estimated increase since January 1,000,000 

Total 121,730,000 

Average dividends for 1819 and 1850 over 7 per cent. 

SAVINGS BANKS. 

Ain't deposited. 

Provident Institution for Savings, Boston $3,200,382 

Suflblk Savings Bank, Boston 771,80'J 

East Boston Savings I3ank 6,608 

Aggregate in city proper, 1849 $3,977,799 

In other metropolitan districts 961,530 



te deposited by 29,799 depositors §4,939,329 

"Whole amount deposited in Massachusetts' savings banks, in 1849, 
§12,1 11,553 64. The average dividends of savings banks in Boston have 
been for five years 8 per cent. 



CAPITAL OF INSURANCE COMPANIES. 



Stock Capital of Boston Companies, 155,483,000. There are also in the city 
and environs sixteen mutual companies and several foreign agencies. 



AQUEDICT. 



As Boston grew in population and manufactures, the natural springs 
which gave it the Indian name of Shawmut gradually failed, and the wato 
deteriorated. The citizens were obliged to deepen the ancient wells from 
year to year, and the wells on land reclaimed from the sea proved brackish 



12 Boston: A Commercial Metropolis in \B50. 

and unwholesome. It was at length necessary to resort to a foreign supply. 
Ill 1795 wooden pipes were laid by a private company from Jamaica Pond, 
a beautiful sheet of water five miles from the exchange, and as the demand 
increased, a ten inch jtipe of iron was substituted. Three thousand tenants 
were thus furnished with a partial sup[)ly, and the enterprise was found very 
remunerative. Jamaica Pond having jiroved insufficient, Boston, in 1846, 
selected Cochituate Lake, in Framingham, twenty miles from the exchange, 
and constructed a new aqueduct to supply the city. This was commenced 
in August, 184G, and opened for use in (}ct(jber, 1848. 

The mean elevation of the lake is 128 feet above the marsh level. The 
water is carried 14| miles by a brick conduit of an elliptic form, measuring- 
six feet four inches, by live feet, with a regular descent of 3-^ inches to the mile, 
to a large reservoir in IJrookline. Here a pond of 22 acres, holding 
100,000,000 of gallons, has been formed by closing the outlet of a valley. 
This reservoir is 123 feet above the level of the sea. The conduit on its 
way j)asses through two tunnels, one of which is half a mile in length, driven 
through solid rock. A break occurs at Charles River, which the water 
crosses by two parallel pipes of thirty inches diameter. From the Brookline 
Reservoir it is carried in large iron pipes five miles to a granite reservoir in 
the city on the summit of lieacon Hill, holding 2,500,000 gallons. Also 
to another large reservoir on Dorchester Heights, South Boston, holding 
6,000,000 of gallons. These are elevated 120 feet above the sea. From 
these the water is distributed by TO miles of pipes through all the streets of 
Boston proper, and has generally been introduced into the dwellings and 
stores at the pxpense of the city. The head is sutScient to throw a three 
mcli jet 92 feet high from the fountain on the Common, and to carry the 
water to the rhanib('rs of all the inhabitants. The aqueduct is competent to 
deliver 14,000.000 of gallons daily, and the source supplies 10,000,000, and 
this quantity may be increased to 14,000,000 by other feeders within two 
miles distance. The .authorities are now engaged in conducting a pi})e by 
bridges across the Charles and Mystic Rivers, four miles further to East 
Boston, passing under several deep and navigable channels by syphons. 
The cost of this enterprise will amount to 85,000,000, which has been 
principally borrowed on shoit loans, and funded in 5 per cent stock, issued 
at par, or at a small discount. 

Ihe amount of water rents the jiresent year, from January to Julv, have 
been !s90,00(i. A large part of the inhabitants are suj.phed at live'dollars 
per tenement; hotels, railways, and manufacturing establishments at higher 
rates. The income promises to be progressive. 

The city proper now is, and the suburbs soon will be, lighted with gas. 

l'i:j!LlC EDIFICES. 

Tlic princijial pulilic buildings in ]>oston and its vicinity are the Qiiiiioy 
jMarket, a granite structure 500 feet by 38. The State House, a large and 
commodious edifice, erected nearly fifty years since by the State. It occu- 
])ies an elivated position overlooking the Common, and is embellished by 
two iron fountains. Faneuil Hall, an ancient brick edifice, the basement of 
which rents for r<('7,000. The M ;issachusetts General Hospital, a large 
stone structure at West Boston ; the old State House; the jSlassachu setts 
Eye and Ear Infirmary ; the Institute for the Blind at South Boston ; the 
Orphan Asylum; the Farm School; the City Hall, an4 Suffolk Court 
House, large buildings of granite ; the Registry of Deeds ; the Merchants' 



Boston: A Commercial Metropolis in 1850. 13 

Exchange, of granite also ; the Athen»um, a large and beautiful building of 
free-stone, costing 8185,000; an elegant granite Custom-house; a Club- 
house of free-stone, in the Italian style, costing §45,000 ; twenty-three large 
school-houses, that have cost $703,000 ; forty -one primary school-houses, 
costing §240,000 ; three theatres ; a museum, and two large buildings of 
granite, used for concerts and lectures. Boston is also erecting an extensive 
jail of Quincy granite, estimated to cost §480,000, and a spacious Alms- 
house, to accomodate 1,500 paupers and emigrants, at Deor Island, to cost 
§150,000. At Eainsford's Island she has also a Quarantine Hospital, and 
buildings hitherto used for jails and alms-houses at West and South Boston. 
In the environs are two large and elegant Court-houses at Dedham and 
Cambridge ; a Town-hall at (.Quincy, of granite ; a Collegiate building at 
Xewton, and ten College halls, an Observatory, and an Insane Hospital at 
Cambridge. 

DONATIONS TO PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS, AND FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES. 

The citizens of Boston have rarely been wanting in the cause of beneficence, 
and many of their institutions are richly endowed. Previous to 1845, a 
single institution, the Massachusetts General Hospital and McLean Asylum, 
had received §040,942, and the entire amount of donations to such pubUc 
objects was ascertained by the Hon. S. A. Eliot, late mayor of the city, to 
have been, prior to 1840, §4,992,059. 

PUBLIC CEMETERIES. 

Very few interments are now made in the ancient burial grounds of 
Boston. Several of them have been planted with trees and shrubs, and 
contribute to the ornament of the city. In 1831 an association of gentle- 
men purchased Mount Auburn, in Cambridge, a spot remarkable for its 
natural beauties, and devoted 118 acres to a rural cemetery. "This is 
probably the first instance in America of a large tract having been chosen 
for its natural beauties, and improved by landscape gardening to prepare it 
for the reception of the dead." It has been extensively copied in other parts 
of the Union. During the past eighteen years, 1,750 lote have been sold, 
realizing not far from §175,000. Roads and paths have been opened, a 
granite gateway and chapel have been built, and more than half a mile of 
iron paling constructed. Many tasteful monuments of marble have been 
erected, and it has become a place of frequent resort both for the living and 
the dead. At Forest Hill, Roxbury, is another beautiful cemetery. Others 
are in progress at Brighton and at Woodlawn, a very picturesque spot in 
Maiden. 

CITY DEBT AND RESOURCES. 

The city debt had been reduced by a cautious policy from §1,098,232 50, 
in 1840, to §1,058,010 00, in 1840. Since that period the aqueduct and 
otiier public improvements have carried the amount to §7,000,000. A strong 
desire now pervades the community to prevent its future growth. The debt, 
however, is not large when compared with the income, wealth, and resources 
of the city, and may be eventually met by the income and sales of the city 
property. The aqueduct is already productive, and may be made to supply 
the environs as well as the city proper. 

Boston possesses also, the Common, a beautiful park of forty-eight acres, 
encircled by an iron fence ; the Public Garden, containing fourteen acres, 
and several public squares and areas embellished by fountains. These are 
all devoted to health and recreation. She owns also a lai'ge amount of 



14 Boston: A Commercial Metropolis in 1850. 

valuable property wliicli may be sold : tliis includes most of the vacant laiul 
iu Boston proper, viz : 4,500,000 feet of land and flats at South Boston ; 
5,000,000 feet of laud and flats on the Neck, and east of the Harrison 
Avenue, together, worth ^3,400,000 ; the City Wharf, valued at $600,000 ; 
Quincy M;"u'ket, $500,000; Leverett-street Estate, 47,000 feet, 1100,000; 
Old State House, ^$l 00,000 ; Bonds and Mortgages, $271,000 ; other real 
estate, exclusive of aqueduct and public Imildings, $100,000 ; making a total 
of $5,071,000. The use and sale of part of this property, and the income 
of the residue, will provide eventually for the debt. The revenue the city 
proper now derives from rents, interest, water, and other sources besides 
taxes, exceeds $300,000 yearly, being nearly equal to the interest of the 
debt.* 

CITY TAXES. 

The amount assessed for taxes has been as follows : — 

Years. 

1840 

1841 

1842 

1843 

1844 

1845 

1846 

1847 

1848 

1849 

1850 



Amount of tax assessed. 


Rate on $1,000. 


Property assessed, 


$546,742 


$5 50 


$94,581,600 


610,412 


6 00 


98,006,600 


637,779 


5 70 


105,723,700 


712,379 


6 20 


110,056,000 


744,210 


6 00 


118,450,300 


811,338 


5 70 


135,948,700 


931,998 


6 90 


148,839,600 


1,014,674 


00 


162,360,400 


1,131.821 


6 50 


167,728,000 


1,174,715 


6 50 


174,180,200 
179,525,000 



The large sums thus reali/.i'd have been expended for great jniblic objects 
— sucli as the school system, improvement of streets, an efiicient police and 
fire deiiurtnmnt, the public health, and relief of the distressed. In the year 
ending April 30th, 1848, for instance, the chief municipal expenditures 
were : — 

For schools and school houses $348,887 40 

Streets — widening, lighting, and paving 400,728 16 

Watch department 60,076 65 

County expenses — courts, etc 44,584 01 

Fire department 81,935 17 

Alien passengers 1 7,336 96 

House of Correction 34,194 78 

House of Industry 55,558 30 

Health and quarantine department 59,1 13 76 

Police and ward meetings 29.292 68 

Salaries 25,599 66 

CANALS. 

In noticing tlie public works to which Boston has contributed one has 
been omitted, the Middlesex Canal, from the bend of the Merrimack liiver, 
near Lowell, to Pjostou, a distance of thirty miles. This enterprise was com- 
menced soon after the Kevolution, to turn the trade of the Merrimack from New- 
buryport, its natural outlet, to Boston. It required more than twenty years 
to raise the requisite funds, $600,000, and complete it, but it eflectually 
turned the masts, spars, and ship timber of New Hampshire to ]3oston. It 
became profitable after Lowell wa.s founded, but is now almost superseded 
by the Boston and Lowell Kailway. This canal was one of the earliest 
steps in the cause of public improvements in the Unitod States. 



• Seo Auditor'8 Report on Ways and Moans for 1848, and Report on Water and Water Kents. 



Boston: A Commercial Metropolis in 1850. 15 

VIADUCTS, BRIDGES, AND WHARVES, 

Some of the artificial structures which connect Boston with the main 
deserve notice. The Western avenue, 7,000 feet long, leads from the old 
Peninsula to Brookline, Roxbury, and Brighton. It is a solid structure of 
granite, filled in with earth, costing ^700,000. Beside forming a wide 
carriage road it creates a large water power, and has redeemed many acres 
from the harbor. West lioston ]3ridge and Causeway, 6,190 feet long, 
costing $76,067, connects Boston with Cambridge. Canal Bridge is 2,796 
feet long: Warren l^ridge, 1,390 feet; Long Wharf, 1,800 feet long and 
200 wide; Central Wharf, 1,379 feet long and 150 wide; India Wharf, 
980 long. Along these wharves are continuous blocks of brick warehouses, 
four to five stories high, and fifty to eighty feet deep, (granite. Commercial, 
and Lewis's Wharves are of similar size, but have ranges of large stone 
warehouses. 

BUILDING MATERIALS. 

The quantity of lumber inspected in Boston in 1849 was; — 

Pine, spruce, and hemlock feet 67,241,681 

Soutlicrn pine 2,843,512 

Hard wood 2,982,713 

Piue timber tons 4,725 

Hard wood timber 3,460 

Mahogany feet 1,088,110 

Cedar 406,650 

Aggregate landed in Boston proper 78,683,538 

The quantity sent by railway into the country without inspection is con- 
sidered equal to that inspected twice. The Inspector General estimates the 
quantity of lumber landed in the metropolitan district around Boston quite 
equal to that landed in the city proper. From 50,000 to 100,000 tons of 
granite are annually quarried at Quincy. This gives employment to a large 
amount of shipping. 

MODERN WAREHOUSES. 

With incre;vsed trade and manufactures a demand has arisen in Boston 
for enlarged warehouses, and many have lately been erected of massive 
granite, in long blocks, and 60 to 100 feet deep. The name of the estate 
is frequently inscribed on these in block letters of granite below the cornice. 

LITERARY INSTITUTIONS. 

The schools of Boston have been adverted to already. Their number and ' 
excellence have, with her liberal patronage of literature, given to Boston the 
title of Literary Emporium, and their merit and importance cannot be over- 
rated. August 1, 1845, she had 125 primary schools with 7,892 scholars, 
and 19 grammar schools with 8,115 scholars. In 1850 she has 178 
primary schools with 11,376 scholars, and 22 large grammar schools with 
9,154 scholars, and other schools with 471. The teachers of the pritnary 
schools receive $300, and the masters of the grammar schools $1,500 per 
annum. Boston also has a Latin and High School, in which the higher 
branches are taught with, signal ability. They are surpassed by no private 
schools in New England. All these schools are open to all classes free of 
charge. Without the chartered limits are Harvard University with its Law 
and Theological schools, a Baptist College, and many excellent schools and 
academies.* 



16 Boston: A Commercial Metrojyolis in 1850. 

LIBRARIES. 

There are several public libraries in the city and environs. The Athenreum 
Librarv, the ]>oston and Mercantile Libraries, the Law Librnrj^ the State, 
and the several libraries of Harvard University, contahi together, more than 
150,000 volumes. 

NEWSPAPERS. 

There are eighty newspapers established in Boston proper, several of 

which are worked by steam presses, and have a wide circulation. The price 

varies from one cent per number to eight dollars per annum. There are 
also six published in the suburbs. 

RELIGIOUS AND CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS. 

Boston and her suburbs contain over two hundred churches and places of 
worship. They have also a General Hospital, two Insane Hospitals, an 
Asylum for the Blind, an Eye and Ear Infirmary, a Lying-in Hos[)ital, an 
Asylum for Orphan girls, and a Farm School for boys. Most of these are 
liberally endowed. 

UNITED STATES TROPERTY. 

The United States have expended large sums in and around Boston, on 
their fortresses and arsenal, extensive navy yard, dry dock, and rope 
walks, and stores of cannon, arms, and materials, a custom-house, and 
hospitals for sick and infirm seamen. All these are situated on Boston 
harbor, and the pi'esent value of the investment is at least ^58,000,000. The 
navy yard is second only to that of Norfolk. 

GROWTH OF BOSTON. 

Should the growth of Boston and her suburbs continue for twenty-five 
years in its present ratio, her po])ulation will exceed 1,000,000, and her 
assessed property rise to 81,500,000,000. She is entering upon the future 
with encouraging i)rospects and enlarged resources, and has surmounted the 
principal obstacles to her progress. 

CONCLUSION. 

If we would seek for a solution of the gi'owth of Boston in commerce, 
wealth, and population, we may trace it not only to her central position and 
admirable harbor, but to the enterprise, intelligence, and frugality of her 
^people. Her enterprise descends lineally from those bold ancestors who 
planted an empire in the wilderness. She has inherited alike their spirit 
and their love for letters. These have guided her enterprise. But it is one 
thing to acquire and another to retain. The frugality which characterizes 
the old Bay State is the great secret of accumulation. Here every artisan 
aspires to own his house, and to leave a patrimony to his children. Having 
secured his dwelling, he buys a single share in a bank, railway, or factory, 
and gradually becomes a capitalist. And large are the acquisitions of adven- 
turous, frugal, and well-directed industry. Floods, tempests and fire, em- 
bargoes, and repeals of tarills, may sweep over and injure, but cannot destroy 
it. in its strong and enduring vit;dity,'like the shell-fish, it clings to, and 
thrives upon, its barren rock. E. il. D. 

M) 18 1 

• lu IsjU Koxbury alone has at her public schools 2,743 scholars. 









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